Kingsley and Froghall is a former railway station of the
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire.
The company was bas ...
(NSR) that is now preserved on the
Churnet Valley Railway
The Churnet Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway in the Staffordshire Moorlands of Staffordshire, England. It operates on part of the former Churnet Valley Line.which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway. ...
in
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
.
History
Kingsley and Froghall station, situated on the
Churnet Valley Line of the
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire.
The company was bas ...
, was opened to both passengers and goods on 1 September 1849.
The station was a busy country station serving the needs of workers at nearby Thomas Bolton's
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...
refinery.
As with many UK railways, passenger numbers in the 1960s decreased to such an extent that the station was closed to both passengers and goods in 1965.
Re-opening and the Churnet Valley Railway
During the 1970s, a railway preservation base was set up at nearby
Cheddleton station; later, this was to become the base of the
Churnet Valley Railway
The Churnet Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway in the Staffordshire Moorlands of Staffordshire, England. It operates on part of the former Churnet Valley Line.which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway. ...
(CVR). The CVR had been progressing slowly in preserving the line when, in the late 1990s, they had reached the station site. After closure by
British Rail, the station buildings had been demolished. Initial rebuilding of the station resulted in the down platform reopening for passengers on 11 August 2001. Construction began later on the new station building, which opened on 19 July 2003.
Since 2003, more work has been done on the station to make the site as complete as the nearby
Consall
Consall is a small village situated in the Staffordshire Moorlands, Staffordshire, England. It is approximately 6 miles south of the market town of Leek and 8 miles east of Stoke-on-Trent. According to the last Census taken in 2001, Consall ha ...
. Initially, this involved resurfacing the down platform and adding fences, a few small buildings and station furniture. With this side now relatively complete, attention has been turned to the second (up) platform where the overhang on the canal and associated fences have been rebuilt, along with walls and the large waiting shelter but, , this platform is not in use.
Kingsley and Froghall is currently the southern limit of passenger operations on the CVR, but plans exist to extend towards
Oakamoor
Oakamoor is a small village in north Staffordshire, England.
Although it is now a rural area, it has an industrial past which drew on the natural resources of the Churnet valley.
Iron was smelted from medieval times. Copper and lumber were also ...
and
Alton Towers.
Notes
External links
Churnet Valley Railway homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingsley And Froghall Railway Station
Heritage railway stations in Staffordshire
Former North Staffordshire Railway stations
Beeching closures in England
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1849
Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1965
1849 establishments in England
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2001